Game call with voice assembly having positioning means therefor

ABSTRACT

A game call for simulating sounds of game, particularly fowl such as ducks, crows and the like, including a voice assembly having a vibrating reed held by a reed holder and a voice trough in a voice assembly holder provided with a mouth piece. The voice assembly has stop pins for positioning the reed and voice trough and a flange for positioning the voice assembly relative to the voice assembly holder. The operator blows air through the mouthpiece vibrating the reed generating a simulated game sound which is emitted through the voice assembly holder.

United States Patent Thomas 154] GAME CALL WITH VOICE ASSEMBLY HAVING POSITIONING MEANS THEREFOR [72] lnventor: Dwight E. Thomas, Winsboro, Tex. [73] Assignee: Thomas Game Call Co., Inc., Winsboro,

Tex.

[22] Filed: Aug. 10, 1970 [21] Appl.'No.: 62,331

[52] US. Cl....l ..46/180, 84/330 [51] Int. Cl. ..A63h 5/00 [58] Field of Search ..46/180, 181; 84/93, 330, 380

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,001,322 9/1961 Sanders ..46/180 [151 3,656,258 [4 1 Apr. 18, 1972 3,066,444 12/1962 Dieckmann ..46/180 Primary Examiner-F. Barry Shay Attomey-H. Mathews Garland [57] ABSTRACT A game call for simulating sounds of game, particularly fowl such as ducks, crows and the like, including a voice assembly having a vibrating reed held by a reed holder and a voice trough in a voice assembly holder provided with a mouth piece. The voice assembly has stop pins for positioning the reed and voice trough and a flange for positioning the voice assembly relative to the voice assembly holder. The operator blows air through the mouthpiece vibrating the reed generating a simulated game sound which is emitted through the voice assembly holder.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDAPR 181m 3, 656,258

-54 i 33 INVENTOR.

Dwight E.Thom0s A TTORNE Y GAME CALL WITH VOICE ASSEMBLY HAVING POSITIONING MEANS THEREFOR This invention relates to devices for simulating sounds and more particularly to a gamecall for reproducing sounds of animals, birds, and the like.

In accordance with the invention, a new and improved game call is provided which is simple and economical to manufacture, is formed by a minimum number of separate parts, and is readily assembled to provide a desired sound without repeated adjustments. The game call includes a voice assembly having a reed, a voice trough and a reed holder. The voice assembly is positioned in a tubular voice assembly holder connected with a mouthpiece through which an operator blows air to vibrate the reed generating a sound emitted through the holder bore.

The voice assembly includes stop pins for properly positioning the reed, voice trough, and reed holder and a flange for properly positioning the voice assembly within the holder. Thus, the reed is positioned in the voice assembly and the assembly is correctly positioned in the holder to produce the desired sound without the need of trial and error adjusting of the device.

The invention along with its objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description of a game call embodying the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view, partially in elevation and partially in section, of one form of game call constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view in section along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view in perspective of the voice assembly of the game call of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal view in section and elevation of another form of game call embodying the invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view in section along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded view in perspective of the voice assembly of the game call shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 1, a game call 10 embodying the invention has a tubular case or housing formed by a voice assembly holder telescopically secured with a mouthpiece 12. The holder 11 has a longitudinal bore 13 which is of the uniform diameter and extends the full length of the holder. The external surface of the holder is tapered toward its opposite ends along portions 14 and 15 from a pair of spaced annular ribs which serve a decorative function and aid in an operator holding the call in his hand. The tapered portion 14 has an external annular groove 21 which is primarily decorative, but may serve a hand gripping function. The mouthpiece 12 has a substantially uniform bore 22 extending a major portion of the length of the member opening to a coincident tapered, outwardly divergent, bore portion 23 at one end. The wall surface of the bore portion 23 is frictionally engaged by the tapered surface portion 15 of the voice assembly holder for releasably securing the voice assembly holder and the mouthpiece together in telescopic relationship to form the generally tubular housing of the game call. The mouthpiece has a tubular outer surface which includes spaced external annular grooves 24-28 of varying depths which serve both decorative and grip aiding functions.

A voice assembly 30 is supported within the game call housing for generating the simulated animal or bird sound emitted by the device. The voice assembly includes a voice trough 31, a reed 32, and a reed holder 33. The voice trough is a halfcylindrical shaped member having a longitudinal air channel 34 extending substantially the full length of the voice trough. The air channel opens along the bottom face 35 of the trough and at one end through the voice trough end face 40. The other end of the air channel is closed in the trough at the arcuate surface 4]. The bottom face 35 of the voice trough is tapered upwardly, as viewed in FIG. 1, toward the outer cylindrical surface of the trough along an end portion 35a so that when the reed is clamped between the reed holder and the voice trough and the reed is at a relaxed straight position the face 51 formed on a curvature conforming tapered closed end portion of the air channel 34 along the trough face 35a is not covered by the free end of the reed. Air may pass between the reed into the channel 34 and along the channel out the open end of the channel at the end face 40 of the trough and, thence, to the sound chamber bore 13 of the voice assembly holder. The tapered configuration of the bottom face of the voice trough also permits the end of the reed to vibrate, in addition to providing for the opening above the reed into the channel through the trough.

The reed 32 has a squared end 32a which is clamped between the voice trough and reed holder and a rounded end 32b, which defines the free end of the reed. The end edge of the reed at 32a shall be referred to as the edge 32c.

The reed holder 33 is essentially a half-cylindrical shaped member having a flat upper face 50 and a cylindrical lower to the curvature of the surface of the bore 13 in the voice assembly holder. A pair of laterally spaced stop pins 52 are formed on the reed holder projecting above and perpendicular to the face 50 at the end 53 of the reed holder. The stop pins serve to properly locate the reed 32 when the component parts of the voice assembly are secured together in the game call housing. At the other end of the reed holder a stop flange 54 is formed, extending semiannularly around the end portion of the reed holder projecting outwardly from its cylindrical surface 51. The flange 54 is formed on the reed holder to engage the inward end face 16 of the voice assembly holder for limiting the extent to which the voice assembly is insertable into the voice assembly holder. The width of the reed and the width of the face 50 of the reed holder are substantially the same and equal to the width of the voice trough, such width measurements also being substantially the diameter of the cylindrical outer surface portion of the voice trough, and reed holder. When the voice trough, reed, and reed holder are held together to form the voice assembly, the assembly is cylindrical and of a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the bore 13 of the voice assembly holder such that a tight slip fit is obtained between the voice assembly and and the bore surface of the holder to insure that when the assembly is inserted into the holder, it is not easily removed or its position inadvertently shifted.

In the assembly of the game call, the reed 32 is placed on the top face 50 of the reed holder. The reed is aligned with the face so that the face edges and reed edges are essentially in alignment, with the end edge 320 of the reed engaging the stop pins 52 projecting from the reed holder face. Approximately one half of the reed rests on the reed holder face while the other half toward the rounded end 32b of the reed extends from and is free of the reed holder to allow the vibration required for sound generation. The voice trough 31 is then placed on the top face of the reed with its edges aligned with the reed edges and the end face 40 of the voice trough engaging the stop pins 52. Holding the reed holder, the reed, and the voice trough together, the voice assembly is inserted into the end of the bore 13 of the voice assembly holder at the end face 16 of the holder. The end of the voice assembly at the stop pins 52 is inserted first into the holder 11 with all of the parts of the voice assembly being firmly held together and the assembly being forced into the holder until the stop flange 54 on the reed holder engages the end face 16 of the voice assembly holder 11. Thus, the flange 54 controls the depth to which the voice assembly is inserted into the voice assembly holder. The tolerance between the voice assembly and the bore surface defining the bore of the voice assembly holder is sufficiently small that the voice assembly is flnnly held by friction in place in alignment with the voice assembly holder with the component parts of the voice assembly being held at the desired positions within the voice assembly holder relative to each other. The flange 54 properly positions the whole voice assembly relative to the holder, while the stop pins 52 limit the depth to which the reed 32 is inserted into the holder, thus, properly positioning the reed and also properly positioning the voice trough relative to the other parts, particularly including the reed. The free end of the reed is held in the correct position under and along the end position 41 of the air channel 34 through the voice trough. The mouthpiece 12 is then connected with the voice assembly holder by inserting the end of the voice assembly holder at the face 16 into the mouthpiece at the end 12a. The external surface 15 of the voice assembly holder wedges against the internal surface 23 of the bore of the mouthpiece tightly securing the voice assembly holder and the mouthpiece together in alignment to form the housing of the game call.

In view of the several part position controlling features of the game call, no adjustments are necessary during and after the assembly of the device. The stop pins 52 and the stop flange 54 permit the voice assembly to be put together and secured in the voice assembly holder with little chance for error in proper part placement. Thus, the desired sound simulated by the device is readily repeatable in each item manufactured without substantial variation in product quality and perfonnance.

A modified form of game call A is illustrated in FIGS. 4,5, and All of the component parts of the game call 10A with the exception of the voice trough are identical to those used in the game call 10 and thus are referred to by the same reference numerals. A modified form of voice trough used in the game call 10A shall be denoted by the reference numeral 31A, The voice trough 31A is a semi-cylindrical member having a bottom face 35A, an air channel 34A and a flat end face 40A. The face 35A is tapered slightly upwardly, FIGS. 4 and 6, toward the upper cylindrical surface of the voice trough along an end portion 60. When the free end of the reed 32 is at its normal straight position, FIG. 4, there is space between the reed and the air channel of the voice trough for the admission of air to the air channel and to permit vibration of the reed. The distinguishing feature of the voice trough 31A is the provision of a pair of laterally spaced blind bores 61 in the trough face 35A adjacent to the end face 40A. The bores 61 are sized and positioned to receive the stop pins 52 to lock the reed holder 33 and voice trough in alignment with each other with the reed 32 clamped between the members when the voice assembly is assembled in the relationship shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The reed 32 is placed on the top face 50 of the reed holder with the end edge 320 of the reed engaged with the stop pins 52 so that the reed is aligned along the face 50 with its free end projecting beyond the other end of the reed holder defined by the flange 54. The voice trough is then placed on the top face of the reed with the surface 35A of the voice trough resting on the reed and the stop pins 52 inserted in the bores 61 so that the voice trough is aligned with and held relative to the reed and reed holder. The voice assembly is inserted into the voice assembly holder 11 to the depth of the flange 54 on the reed holder positioning the voice assembly as shown in FIG. 4. The mouthpiece 12 is telescoped over the end surface of the voice assembly holder to the position shown in FIG. 4. The stop pins 52 hold the reed at the proper position in the voice assembly. The relationship of the stop pins and the bore 61 of the voice trough correctly position the voice trough and the reed holder along with the reed. The flange 54 controls the position of the voice assembly in the voice assembly holder.

With the various parameters required for the desired simulated sound established by the positioning of the voice assembly parts relative to each other and the voice assembly in the holder established by the stop pins 53 and the flange 54, no further adjustment of the game call is necessary. Thus, once the various parts of the call are manufactured to the desired dimensions, assembly may be performed by unskilled personnel without any significant degree of checking and testmg.

Both forms of the game call function identically. The game call is held in the hand of the operator who places his mouth over the open end of the mouthpiece 12 blowing into the bore 22 at'the end 12b. The air flows along the bore toward the voice assembly entering the assembly between the free end of the reed and the portion 41 of the air channel 34. The air flows along the air channel passing out through the open end of the channel at the voice trough face 40 entering the bore 13 of the voice assembly holder comprising a sound chamber and exiting out the open end 11a of the holder. The flowing air striking the free end 32b of the reed causes vibration of the reed generating the simulated game sound for which the device is designed. The volume and pitch of the emitted sound is varied by the operator controlling the blowing of 7 air into the mouthpiece. The manner in which the parts fit together with the assembly position control features, such as the stop pin and the stop flange, provide for consistent quality control with a minimum of testing and adjustment so that large numbers of the calls may be made to produce the same desired sounds at minimum manufacturing costs.

The nature of the materials used in manufacture of the call may obviously be varied. The preferred form of the call includes a voice assembly holder and a mouthpiece formed of wood while the voice trough and reed holder are of a substan tially hard, moldable, plastic so that fairly close tolerances may be maintained during manufacture. The reed 32 is formed of a thin spring-like steel plateQWhile the nature of the material used may affect the sound produced by the device and the manufacturing techniques employed in producing it, the principal features of the invention may be incorporated into a game call regardless of materials used for proper reed and voice assembly positioning within the housing.

It will be apparent that in the game call 10 the stop pins 52 may be formed on the voice trough face 35 to engage the end face 53 of the reed holder. Also, in the call 10A the stop pins may be on the voice trough with the bores 61 in the reed holder.

Thus, a new and improved game call has been described and illustrated which includes a housing having a voice assembly holder portion with a tubular bore providing a sound chamber or resonating portion and a tubular mouth portion for introducing air through the voice assembly. The voice assembly includes a voice trough having an air channel, a reed, and a reed holder supported in the housing for simulating the designed sound. The voice assembly is particularly characterized by features including stop pins and a stop flange for correctly positioning the components of the voice assembly prior to its insertion into the housing and for holding the voice assembly during operation.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A game call for simulating game sounds comprising: a housing having a central longitudinal bore extending throughout the length of said housing and opening through opposite ends of said housing including a portion providing a sound chamber, a portion forming a mouthpiece for admitting air to said bore, and means along said bore defining a stop shoulder lying in a plane substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of said bore; and a voice assembly supported in said bore of said housing for generating game sounds responsive to movement of air along said bore through said voice assembly, said assembly comprising a voice trough, a sound generating reed, and a reed holder and having flange means engageable with said stop shoulder in said housing for positioning said voice assembly within said housing, said voice assembly including stop means comprising spaced stop pins on one of said voice trough and said reed holder for positioning said voice trough and said reed holder relative to each other, said pins being engageable by an end edge of said reed for positioning said reed between said reed holder and said voice trough.

2. A game call in accordance with claim 1 wherein said stop pins are on said reed holder and engageable with an end of said voice trough.

3. A game call in accordance with claim 1 wherein said stop pins are on said reed holder and said voice trough is provided with blind bores for receiving said stop pins for positioning said reed holder and voice trough relative to each other.

4. A game'call in accordance with claim l'wherein said voice trough comprises a semi-cylindrical member having a longitudinal air channel opening through an end face, a longitudinal face of said voice trough being planar along a major portion of the length of said trough and sloping near one end toward the cylindrical longitudinal surface of said trough, said reed holder being substantially semi-cylindrical in form and being shorter than said voice trough whereby said reed is confined between said reed holder and said air trough over said voice channel along one end portion of said voice trough, a free end of said reed extending over said air channel spaced from said voice trough along the end portion of said trough including said sloping face portion.

5. A game call for simulating a sound emitted by game comprising:

a substantially tubular housing including a voice assembly holderhaving a longitudinal bore therethrough providing a sound chamber along a first sound emitting end portion of said housing and a tubular mouthpiece adapted to be telescoped co-axially over a second end of said voice assembly holder, said voice assembly holder having a tapered outer surface along said second end portion and said mouthpiece having a tapered inner surface along a first end portion of the bore therethrough, said tapered surfaces of said voice assembly holder and said mouthpiece being co-engageable for frictionally holding said voice assembly holder and said mouthpiece together to form said housing of said game call, the end surface of said voice assembly holder at said second end of said holder within said bore of said mouthpiece providing a stop shoulder within said housing;

a voice assembly supported within said bore of said housing against said stop shoulder for simulating said game sound, said voice assembly being substantially cylindrical and comprising a voice trough substantially semi-cylindrical in shape and having a longidudinal air channel opening through a first end of said trough and through a reed support surface of said trough opposite the cylindrical outer surface of said trough, said air channel the other second end of said trough, said support surface of said trough sloping toward said cylindrical surface along an end portion of said trough near said second end of said trough, said reed holder, said reed holder being semi-cylindrical in shape having a first end generally alignable with said first end of said voice trough in said voice assembly and a second end having an external semicircular flange engageable with said stop shoulder on said second end of said voice assembly holder in said housing for positioning said voice assembly in said housing, said reed holder having stop pins engageable with the voice trough for positioning said reed holder and said voice trough relative to each other, and a reed of flat thin material adapted to vibrate responsive to air flow and having a first end edge engageable with said pins for positioning said reed relative to said voice trough when said reed is confined between said voice trough and said reed holder and the other end of said reed being free to vibrate.

6. A game call in accordance with claim 5 wherein said pins are formed in lateral spaced relation on said reed holder and engageable with said first end of said voice trough and by said first end edge of said reed.

7. A game call in accordance with claim 5 wherein said pins are formed in spaced relation on the said reed holder projecting from a planar surface thereon near said first end of said holder and said voice trough is provided with spaced blind bores opening through said reed support surface thereon aligned with said pins on said reed holder for receiving said pins for positioning said reed holder and said trough relative to each other, said pins being engaged by said first end edge of said reed when said reed is clamped between said voice trough and said reed holder.

terminating near 

1. A game call for simulating game sounds comprising: a housing having a central longitudinal bore extending throughout the length of said housing and opening through opposite ends of said housing including a portion providing a sound chamber, a portion forming a mouthpiece for admitting air to said bore, and means along said bore defining a stop shoulder lying in a plane substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of said bore; and a voice assembly supported in said bore of said housing for generating game sounds responsive to movement of air along said bore through said voice assembly, said assembly comprising a voice trough, a sound generating reed, and a reed holder and having flange means engageable with said stop shoulder in said housing for positioning said voice assembly within said housing, said voice assembly including stop means comprising spaced stop pins on one of said voice trough and said reed holder for positioning said voice trough and said reed holder relative to each other, said pins being engageable by an end edge of said reed for positioning said reed between said reed holder and said voice trough.
 2. A game call in accordance with claim 1 wherein said stop pins are on said reed holder and engageable with an end of said voice trough.
 3. A game call in accordance with claim 1 wherein said stop pins are on said reed holder and said voice trough is provided with blind bores for receiving said stop pins for positioning said reed holder and voice trough relative to each other.
 4. A game call in accordance with claim 1 wherein said voice trough comprises a semi-cylindrical member having a longitudinal air channel opening through an end face, a longitudinal face of said voice trough being planar along a major portion of the length of said trough and sloping near one end toward the cylindrical longitudinal surface of said trough, said reed holder being substantially semi-cylindrical in form and being shorter than said voice trough whereby said reed is confined between said reed holder and said air trough over said voice channel along one end portion of said voice trough, a free end of said reed extending over said air channel spaced from said voice trough along the end portion of said trough including said sloping face portion.
 5. A game call for simulating a sound emitted by game comprising: a substantially tubular housing including a voice assembly holder having a longitudinal bore therethrough providing a sound chamber along a first sound emitting end portion of said housing and a tubular mouthpiece adapted to be telescoped co-axially over a second end of said voice assembly holder, said voice assembly holder having a tapered outer surface along said second end portion and said mouthpiece having a tapered inner surface along a first end portion of the bore therethrough, said tapered surfaces of said voice assembly holder and said mouthpiece being co-engageable for frictionally holding said voice assembly holder and said mouthpiece together to form said housing of said game call, the end surface of said voice assembly holder at said second end of said holder within said bore of said mouthpiece providing a stop shoulder within said housing; a voice assembly supported within said bore of said housing against said stop shoulder for simulating said game sound, said voice assembly being substantially cylindrical and comprising a voice trough substantially semi-cylindrical in shape and having a longidudinal air channel opening through a first end of said trough and through a reed support surface of said trough opposite the cylindrical Outer surface of said trough, said air channel terminating near the other second end of said trough, said support surface of said trough sloping toward said cylindrical surface along an end portion of said trough near said second end of said trough, said reed holder, said reed holder being semi-cylindrical in shape having a first end generally alignable with said first end of said voice trough in said voice assembly and a second end having an external semi-circular flange engageable with said stop shoulder on said second end of said voice assembly holder in said housing for positioning said voice assembly in said housing, said reed holder having stop pins engageable with the voice trough for positioning said reed holder and said voice trough relative to each other, and a reed of flat thin material adapted to vibrate responsive to air flow and having a first end edge engageable with said pins for positioning said reed relative to said voice trough when said reed is confined between said voice trough and said reed holder, and the other end of said reed being free to vibrate.
 6. A game call in accordance with claim 5 wherein said pins are formed in lateral spaced relation on said reed holder and engageable with said first end of said voice trough and by said first end edge of said reed.
 7. A game call in accordance with claim 5 wherein said pins are formed in spaced relation on the said reed holder projecting from a planar surface thereon near said first end of said holder and said voice trough is provided with spaced blind bores opening through said reed support surface thereon aligned with said pins on said reed holder for receiving said pins for positioning said reed holder and said trough relative to each other, said pins being engaged by said first end edge of said reed when said reed is clamped between said voice trough and said reed holder. 